Title: 1) Naval Aviator; 2) Senior Research Scientist
Company: 1) U.S. Navy; 2) Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Location: Woodbridge, Virginia, United States
John R. Paron, PhD, Naval Aviator at the U.S. Navy and Senior Research Scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Military for dedication, achievements, and leadership in Naval Service.
Supported by decades of professional excellence, Dr. Paron is a respected figure in both military service and academic research, having served in the U.S. Navy for 33 years. He began his military career early, enlisting in 1959, before he finished high school. His first commanding officer recognized his high enlistment test scores and encouraged him to apply for the Naval Aviation Cadet (NAVCAD) Program, which he did straight away.
In July 1962, Dr. Paron completed his NAVCAD university requirements, transferred to active duty, and immediately reported to the USS Donner, LSD 20. In October 1962, his orders to Naval Air Training Command Flight School finally arrived. The next day, the Cuban Missile Crisis caused the Chief of Naval Operations to cancel all Navy transfer orders.
Dr. Paron participated in an undermanned 24-hour nonstop load-out of USS Donnor. Armed with munitions and an assault force of marines, the USS Donnor transited at full speed toward Cuba in support of President Kennedy’s tasking during the Cuban Missile Crisis. During transit, while skirting Hurricane Ella, USS Donnor ran aground off Cape Hatteras and struggled to return to Norfolk; upon docking and without asking questions, Dr. Paron immediately left the ship and executed his orders to flight training.
From 1964 to 1966, Dr. Paron served as a fighter-attack and reconnaissance naval aviator, flying from Naval Air Station (NAS) Cubi Point in the Philippines, the Chu Lai and Da Nang Air Bases in Vietnam, the Tainan Air Base in the Republic of China, and several air bases in Japan. During this period, he conducted combat surveillance throughout Southeast Asia before reporting to NAS Lemoore for type aircraft extended training with VA-125 in preparation for combat deployment aboard USS Saratoga in 1967.
In early 1968, Dr. Paron transitioned to VA-216, also known as the Black Diamonds, and conducted pre-cruise refresher training in weapons and carrier landings. During this cruise, his air wing responded to the USS Liberty’s SOS, while she was under attack by unknown sea and air forces, who repeatedly attacked her, killing 34 and wounding 171 U.S. Navy personnel. Only a single fighter-attack squadron was able to launch in support of the USS Liberty’s SOS. For classified reasons, the day before the USS Liberty’s SOS, the USS Saratoga was ordered to move 500 miles back from the Israeli and Egyptian coast. Dr. Paron considers his inability to respond to a U.S. Navy ship’s SOS to be the most frustrating and disappointing day of his military service.
In July 1969, Dr. Paron transferred to the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. Upon graduation, he upgraded to the A-7 Corsair II and, in late 1971, deployed aboard USS Oriskany for an 11-month combat cruise. Three months after returning, he deployed on another 11-month combat cruise.
In 1972, while under the control of an Air Force forward air controller (FAC), Dr. Paron’s aircraft was struck by a bomb dropped by one of three Air Force B-52s conducting an Arc Light attack on his target. The bomb crushed a 36” by 48” portion of his vertical stabilizer, breaking hydraulic lines, jamming trim controls to the full up position, and destroying his radio and other electronics. With the powerful assistance of his two wingmen, Dr. Paron was able to execute a successful emergency arrested landing at Da Nang Air Base.
Dr. Paron completed over 200 combat missions during the Vietnam War. Post-Vietnam War cruises to his credit included an around-the-world cruise as air boss and shorter peacetime cruises as executive officer of USS Coral Sea.
Dr. Paron’s military awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the United States’ second-highest peacetime medal, for the reduction of an $80 billion NATO Force proposal challenge by $61 billion to a final challenge of $19 billion. He was likewise presented with the Legion of Merit, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy Meritorious Service Medal, and 20 awards of the Air Medal, representing 200 combat missions. Moreover, Dr. Paron was decorated with the Joint Service Commendation Medal, multiple Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals with Gold Star and Combat V, multiple Navy Marine Corps Achievement Medals with Bronze Star, National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with four Bronze Stars, and nine other medals presented by the Republic of Vietnam, including Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry.
Dr. Paron finished his military career, having been personally selected by the chief of naval operations to serve as the chair at the National War College. This wonderfully challenging and rewarding assignment allowed him the opportunity to work with the very best of the United States of America’s Military and Civilian Secretariats, and the preeminent military officers of our allied nations.
Dr. Paron pivoted his career trajectory toward applied research and joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Laboratory BFP DRC as a senior research scientist. He spent 15 years in this role and maintained responsibility for worldwide on-site research of allied defense organizations to identify their key tasks and develop tools to facilitate effective response during high-incident scenarios. Overseeing a team of six former senior military officers and research professionals spanning from California and Kansas to Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., Dr. Paron also designed algorithms and sponsored supporting software to automate.
Beyond his professional commitments, Dr. Paron’s lifelong passion for learning continues. He is thankful and proud of the U.S. Navy’s support, which included an active-duty assignment to the Naval Postgraduate School and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs paid for Dr. Paron’s master’s degree from Boston University, his master’s degree from the University of Southern California, and his doctorate from the University of Southern California. Dr. Paron continues to teach with the dean of the University of Delaware Graduate School.
In 1974, Dr. Paron sought the road less traveled and, over his senior officers’ objections, requested an assignment to the Italian Air Force. As a result, he was thrilled to fly the F-104, the world’s fastest aircraft, and live 30 minutes from Venice. Dr. Paron’s passion for his Italian heritage was sparked and remains constant to this day, along with his conviction that the United States must re-embrace its NATO Allies.
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